CURRENT EVENTS REVIEW

CURRENT EVENTS REVIEW

Security at all cost is very vital for survival. It is in the hierarchy of human needs, preferably among the top ones listed. In as much as it is crucial for survival, other things such as shelter, food and education are significant too. The proposed 4.8 trillion-dollar budget to boost defence puts us at a very confusing state. Would cut safety net programs in favour of raising defence to be the wisest thing to do? Millions of bright students need education loans, affordable housing efforts are needed by thousands of people, Medicaid, to mention but a few. The said budget is also going to demand to borrow of funds, which will automatically increase the national debt by 3.4 trillion dollars by 2024, the time when Trump’s second term will be coming to an end. The biggest mistake the government is making is assuming that things will flow as planned. This is evident from their assumptions about the economy. I would call the enormous amounts of military spending a wrong decision, as it brings about the suppression of the disadvantaged. Tramp is focusing so much on defence and neglecting the immediate needs of citizens. If at all the said budget is approved, I would say that it will only bring dissatisfaction to citizens as they are the ones being repressed for it to go through.

On Monday, Mr Trump said, “We are going to have a perfect budget with a powerful military budget because we have no choice.” Well, it seems to me like we do have a choice. Why don’t we focus on the immediate need such as education and survive on the defence system that we currently have? The united states of America are known to have one of the best defences in the world, and I do not see the need of having billions of dollars dedicated to a system that can hold for up to a decade to come. It is clear what the administration’s priorities are. Mr Trump seems to pay no attention whatsoever to government aids for citizens. Many Democratic candidates seem to be in favour of the US citizens with the aim of forgiving student loan debts, making public colleges tuition-free. The budget will in a big way to affect citizens at all cost, clearly stating that borrowers would pay 12.5% of their discretionary income toward their loans instead of the 10% many currently pay. Allocation of funds to states is also going to be interfered with as proposed to the said budget. This will affect funds that support needy students. There are programs that will be transformed to the point of being zeroed out, such as 21st-century community learning centres, which helps low-income students by funding afterschool programs and also supporting homeless and migrant students. This measure will affect the education department by having them reduce the number of staff and cost of administration too. The budget proposes that tobacco responsibility be moved from the Food and Drug Administration into the Department of Health and Human Services.

Previous Trump’s budget proposed repeal for the Affordable Care Act and a replacement with a strategy that would give block grants of finance disbursement with lesser rules on how the finances are supposed to be spent. The new budget does not use this approach in that it leaves the law’s funding intact and directs congressmen to come up with new policies that ensure that the expenditure of the money is accounted for.

The handling of health care issue on the budget also raises concern given the involvement of the Supreme court. The white house has joined a lawsuit that was filed by a group of republican states seeking to nullify the Affordable Care Act. The president keeps making promises that he will release a healthcare plan that could be deployed if he wins in court, but he has yet to do so. Significant changes have also been made to healthcare programs including several that would tend to lower federal spending on Medicaid, by reducing the share of medical bills the federal government will pay the Obamacare expansion population and imposing new requirements on the beneficiaries who wish to enrol.

Reference

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/10/business/president-trump-budget-cuts.html

https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/nation-politics/trumps-4-8-trillion-budget-would-cut-safety-net-programs-and-boost-defense/